GB2053635A - Yieldable plough body mounting - Google Patents

Abstract

A yieldable plough body mounting, e.g. for a reversible plough is provided in which an arm (1) carrying a plough body (11) in position of use is pivotally connected (42) by a connecting rod or similar elongate assembly (40) to support means (2, 20) mounted on the plough beam (3), the forward end of the arm (1) having pivotal ball contact (16, 26) with the support means (2, 20) at a plurality of points or locations adjacent the pivotal connection (42) whereby pivotal angular movement of the arm (1) is able to take place for upward yielding movement of the arm (1) against the action of resiliently acting return means (4) acting between the arm (1) and a rear part (43) of the connecting rod (40). The connecting rod or similar assembly (40) has an intermediate pivot joint (45) so as to have a pivotal or hinge action to permit further upward pivotal angular movement of the arm (1) at reduced or virtually no resilient loading. The resiliently acting return means (4) may be spring and/or fluid pressure loaded. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATIOF Vielldablle plough Ledy mounting The object of this invention is to provide an improved yieldable plough body mounting for minimising damage to the body or ploughshare and plough structure generally in the event of the body or share striking a stone, rock or similar obstruction in the ground, the mounting having an automatic return or reset action back to the normal ploughing position after the obstruction has been passed. The invention has particular application to multi-body reversible ploughs whilst practical advantages will be apparent from the following disclosure.

According to the invention a yieldable plough body mounting is characterised by an arm which has at least one depending rear part or leg for carrying a plough body in a lowermost position in use, the arm being pivotally connected by a connecting rod or similar elongate means or assembly to support means mounted or mountable on plough structure such as a beam of the latter, the forward end of said arm also having pivotal contact with the support means at one or more points or locations adjacent or about the pivotal connection whereby pivotal angular movement of the arm is able to take place for yielding movement of the arm in an upward direc tLion against the action of resiliently acting return means acting between the arm and connecting rod or similar elongate means or assembly which latter has an intermediate pivot joint so as to have a pivotal or hinge action to permit further upward pivotal angular movement of the arm at reduced or virtually no resilient loading.

In practice as applied to a plough body mounting of a reversible plough, constructions and arrangements may be as follows, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which: FIGURES 1 to 3 are diagrammatic side elevations partly in section and showing the yielding action of .he mounting, FIGURE 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken in the direction of the arrow IV of FIGURE 1, and FIGURE 5 is a condensed sectional side elevation on a further enlarged scale showing a developed arrangement of the yieldable mounting.

Like parts are designated by the same or similar reference numerals throughout the drawings.

Referring to FIGURES 1 to 3 a rearwardly extend- ing ortrailing arm 1 having a hollow interior and which is substantially horizontal in position of use, is pivotally connected to support means 2 from the beam 3 of the plough structure, which beam 3 is rearwardly inclined in the usual manner, i.e. in a generally horizontal plane in position of use.

The rear of the arm 1 carries a pair of oppositely directed legs 10, the lower depending one of which is shown carrying a plough body 11 in the operative position whilst the upper leg 10 carries an inoperative body 11' in the usual arrangement of a reversible plough. Also in the usual manner the plough body 1 (or plough bottom or mould board) has a share 111 havingacuttingedge 112.

The support means 2 is shown consisting of a member 20 mounted by brackets 23 from the plough beam 3 so as to extend laterally from the latter and to which support member 20 the arm is pivotally connected or anchored at 42, i.e. by an elongate member or rod 40 of return spring loading means 4 acting on the arm 1, which rod 40 is co-axial with the pivotal connection 42 and passes along the interior of a compression spring 44 within the arm 1. The rod 40 is also provided with a collar 43 abutting the rear end of the spring .4, the forward end of the spring 44 in turn bearing against an abutment 41 fixed in the arm 1.

In order to provide a plurality of pivotal contact points or locations between the arm 1 and plate 20, the arm 1 is shown provided with a number of pivot projections 16 which may be in the forni of transverse pins or balls or have ball heads and cooperating with corresponding recesses or sockets 26 in the support member 20 which latter may incorpo- rate or consist of a transverse plate for the purpose.

Six such pivot balls 16 and recesses 26 are shown provided in a hexagonal rnanneraboutthe axis at42 preferably, but not necessarily, on a common pitch circle as indicated in FIGURE 4. Thus the pivot balls 16 are at the corners of an imaginary hexagon about said axis. However the number and arrangement of such pivotal contact points or locations may be var ied as referred to below.

if desired the balls or pivot pins may be carried by the support member 20 and engage corres,oonding recesses provided on the arm 1 such as in a transverse plate mounted at the forward end of the arm 1.

Such pivotal contact arrangement should provide adequate clearance for relative pivotal movernent of the arm 1 and support member 20.

In the arrangement shown and for pivotal movement in different directions in a universal manner, each pivot ball 16 engages a corresponding recess or seating 26 in the support member 20, the latter having a central clearance opening 24 for passage of the rod 40 and to permit its relative angular movement.

Under normal ploughing conditions the prnjec- LiOnS or balls 16 ofthe arm 1 are urged into full engagement with all or most of the recesses 26 of the support member 20 but, dependent on the manner in which the leading point F of the ploughshare 111 encounters an obstruction such as a large stone S (FIGURE 2) embedded in the soil or underlying rock or root, the arm 1 and plough body 11 are able to yield in an upward direction either vertically in the direction ofthe arrows (FIGURE 4) or in an upward direction inclined to the vertical as per the arrow Y'.

In the event of vertically upward movement of the arm lit is able to rock about the adjacent uppermost pair of pivot balls 16 and recesses 26 and in the case of upwardly inclined yielding movement in the direction of the arrow Y', the arm 1 rocks about the adjacent pair of pivot balls 16 and recesses 26 lying at right angies to the direction of the arrow Y', i.e.

The drawing(s) originally filed was/were informal and the print here reproduced is taken from a later filed formal copy.

about the left-hand uppermost recess 26 and lefthand mid-recess 26 as seen in FIGURE 4.

In the arrangement shown yielding movement in an oppositely upwardly inclined direction Y" is possible about a corresponding adjacent pair of pivot balls 16 and recesses 26, viz: the right hand uppermost recess 26 and the right-hand mid-recess 26', but such yielding movement is less likely to occur especially as the back of the plough body 11 firmly bears against unturned soil. In fact the right hand mid pivotal contact point 16/26' may be omitted.

The arrangement has the advantage that on yielding movement of the arm 1 taking place in any of the above mentioned directions, positive location of the arm 1 relative to the support member 20 is maintained owing to the fact that the pivotal angular yielding movement very largely takes place about an adjacent pair of balls 16 and recesses 26, whilst at the same time the arrangement is also able to accommodate variations in the direction of upward yielding movement.

When the plough is reversed byturnoveropera- tion of the plough beam 3, the lowermost pair of recesses 26 in FIGURE 4 become the uppermost pair for pivotal co-operation between the arm 1 and support member 20 in the same way.

The resilient or spring loading 4 of the arm 3 is such that when the arm 1 is in the horizontal operative position (FIGURE 1) adequate resistance is provided against normal ploughing loads, but yielding movement is able to take place in the manner described on the ploughshare 111 encountering an obstruction S as indicated in FIGURE 2.

Further in accordance with this invention the connecting rod 40 is provided with an intermediate pivot joint 45 so that the two parts 46, 47 of the rod 40 are able to have a relative pivotal or hingeing action in a substantially vertical plane. The forward part46 may consist of a pair of parallel links.

While the rod 40 remains in the in-line condition as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 the collar 43 bears againstthe spring 44to provide resilient loading to the arm 1 against yielding movement. However on the lowermost plough body 11 encountering an obstructions S the arm 1 yields against the action of the spring loading 4 and, particularly in the case of a large obstruction imparting pronounced upthrust to the plough body 11, further upward yielding movement of the arm 1 is able to take place against substantially reduced or virtually no spring loading owing to the pivotal or hingeing action of the rod 40 at 45 as shown in FIGURE 3.

Thus as yielding movement of the arm 1 continues the leading part or linkage 46 of the rod 40 abuts the support member 20 and in the example shown the pivot joint 45 abuts the upper pivot ball location 16/26 of the arm 1 with the support member 20. At this stage continued upward movement of the arm 1 causes the rod to hinge atthe pivot joint 45 permitting further upward movement of the arm 1 with little or no restraint. After the obstruction S has been passed, the arm 1 is able to return by gravity from its uppermost position to that more or less as shown in FIGURE 2 after which the spring loading 4 ensures thatthe plough body returns to the normal plough ing position shown in FIGURE 1.

Where a hexagonal or similar arrangement of pivot balls 16 and recesses 26 is employed, initial upward movement ofthe arm 1 may be in a vertical or vertically inclined direction but on further upward movementtaking place in the manner shown in FIGURE 3, such upward movement is substantially in a vertical direction only.

Furthermore and when the arm 1 is in the operative position firm multi-point (i.e. substantially six point) location is provided between the arm 1 and support member so that there is little or no ten- dencyforthe body 11 or each such body to waver from the normal ploughing position.

In order to permit initial upwardly inclined move mentofthe arm 1,the pivot joint 45 of the rod 40 preferably has some extent of universal action and may consist of a ball joint for the purpose as described later with reference to FIGURES.

In orderto cater for different operating conditions and corresponding yielding action required, the forward part or links 46 ofthe rod 40 can be pivotally anchored at 42 to the support member 20 at an appropriate point, e.g. forwardly advanced or rearwardly positioned preferably in a selective manner such as by the use of interchangeable links at 46 of different length and a series of anchorage points 42' on the support member 20.

Thus, for example, in the case of stony soil the anchorage ofthe forward part or links 46 is forwardly situated so that an early hingeing action of the rod 40 occurs with corresponding further upward movement of the arm 1 with little or no restraint. On the other hand in the case of heavy clay soil where the operative plough body 11 encounters considerable resistance under normal ploughing conditions, a shorter forward part or links 46 of the rod 40 can be employed to a rearwardly situated pivotal anchorage 42 so that hingeing action of the rod 40 takes place at a later stage in orderto maintain substantially full spring loading for a greater extent of initial yielding movement of the plough body 11 and arm 1.

Desired yielding characteristics of the arm 1 may be also varied by the position of the pivot joint 45 relative to the vertical plane of pivot ball or like location 16/26 of the arm 1 relative to the support member 20, more particularly as regards the extent to which further upward movement of the arm 1 is subject to reduced spring loading or virtually no such loading.

Instead of a compression spring 44 or more than one of the latter, the resiliently acting return means 4 may be fluid pressure operated as shown in FIGURE 5 in which case the rear part of the rod 40 acts upon a piston 49 or other appropriate movable member of a hydraulic cylinder 48 accommodated within the hollow arm 1 at a rear part of the latter. The cylinder 48 thus acts in a similar manner to the spring 44.

For suitable resilient action, hydraulic fluid of the cylinder 48 is arranged to act on a volume of inert gas such as nitrogen in the cylinder 48 or in a hyd raulic system connected to it and incorporating a nit rogen accumulator, i.e. in a reservoir. The hydraulic system may be common to several such cylinders 48 and is preferably arranged for variable pressure operation, e.g. by appropriate connection to the hydraulic system of a tractor drawing the plough.

in the arrangement shown in FIGURE 5 ballheaded projections 16 are carried by a plate 13 transversely mounted at the forward end of the arm 1, the ball shaped heads 16 engaging corresponding recesses or sockets 26 in blocks 27 secured to the support plate 20 which latter is mounted by brackets 23 from the beam 3. That face 270 of each block 27 facing the corresponding ball shaped head 16 is inclined in the manner shown to provide adequate clearance for angular movement of the ball shaped head 16 and plate 13 relative to it.

The forward part 46 of the rod assembly 40 is shown consisting of a pair of parallel links receiving with side clearance an eye head or socket 470 of the rear part 47 between them. In order to permit some universal pivotal movement between the rear part 47 and forward links 46, the eye head or socket 470 is shown engaging a ball member450 on atransverse pin 451 carried by the links 46. Clearance openings 14, 24 are respectively provided in the plates 13,20 for permitting angular movement of the rod assembly 40.

The rear part 47 may consist of an extension of the piston rod 490 but is preferably connected to it at 497. The rear end of the cylinder 48 is anchored to the rear of the arm 1 by a shank 480 receiving a nut 481 which has a spherical seating at 180 in a bearing plate 18 to permit some angular movement of the cylinder 48 relative to the arm 1. If desired the arrangement may be reversed, i.e. the rod 47 may be connected to the cylinder 48 with the piston 49 connected to the arm 1.

In further alternative forms of resiliently acting return means 4 Belleville washers may be employed, e.g. acting between the rear end of the rod or rod assembly 40 and the arm 1. Thus for example and referring to FIGURE 5 Belleville washers could be provided about the rod 490 between the piston 49 and a head 482 of the cylinder or a housing 48, i.e.

with or without fluid pressure operation or in a similar assembly. Tension spring loading between the rear of the rod or rod assembly 40 and rearofthe arm 1 is also possible whilst any suitable combination of the above or other spring or similar loading may be employed.

In addition to the advantage of providing a considerable extent of upward yielding movement of the plough body 11 and arm 1 with the facility of the latter part of such movement being at reduced or substantially no resilient loading as herein described, the arrangement is also capable of simple, compact and robust construction which can be readily accommodated within a hollow arm 1 of convenient size. Furthermore the mechanism can be readily set or adjusted to suit varying operating conditions.

Claims (12)

1. Ayieldable plough body mounting characterised by an arm which has at least one depending rear part or leg forcarrying a plough body in a lowermost position in use, the arm being pivotally connected by a connecting rod or similar elongate means or assembly to support means mounted or mountable on plough structure such as a beam of the latter, the forward end of said arm also having pivotal contact with the support means at one or more points or locations adjacent or about the pivotal connection whereby pivotal angular movement of the arm is able to take place for yielding movement of the arm in an upward direction against the action of resiliently acting return means acting between the arm and the connecting rod or similar elongate means or assembly, which latter has an intermediate pivot joint so as to have a pivotal or hinge action to permit further upward pivotal angular movement of the arm at reduced or virtually no resilient loading.

2. Ayieldable plough body mounting according to claim 1 wherein a forward part of the pivotally jointed connecting rod or similar elongate means or assembly is pivotally connected to the support means, and a rear part pivotally or hingedlyjointed to the forward part extends along and within a hollow interior of the arm which latter also contains the resiliently acting return means acting between the arm and said rear part.

3. Ayieldable plough body mounting according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the pivot joint of the connecting rod or similar elongate means or assembly has a universal pivotal action.

4. Ayieldable plough body mounting according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the pivot joint of the connecting rod or similar elongate means or assembly lies in the vicinity or plane of pivotal contact of the forward end ofthe arm with the support means.

5. Ayieldable plough body mounting according to any of the preceding claims wherein a forward part ofthe connecting rod or similar elongate means or assembly and/or the pivot joint thereof is adapted to abut the pivotal contact between the forward end of the arm and the support means or abut a part of one or the other of the latter adjacent said pivotal contact after initial upward pivotal angular move mentofthe arm has taken place in orderto obtain said pivotal or hinge action of the connecting rod or similar elongate means or assembly at the pivot joint thereof for further upward pivotal angular movement of the arm.

6. A yieldable plough body mounting according to any ofthe preceding claims wherein the position of pivotal connection of the connecting rod or similar elongate means or assembly to the support means is adapted to be varied in a longitudinal or axial direction relative to the latter for obtaining early or late pivotal or hinge action of the connecting rod or similar elongate means or assembly at the pivot joint in order to suit working conditions.

7. Ayieldable plough body mounting according to any of the preceding claims wherein the resiliently acting return means consists of spring means acting between the arm and a rear part of the connecting rod or similar elongate means or assembly.

8. A yieldable plough body mounting according to claim 7 wherein the spring means consists of one or more compression springs or a spring member or members having a compression spring action.

9. A yieldable plough body mounting according to any of claims 1 to 6 wherein the resiliently acting return means is fluid pressure operated.

10. A yieldable plough body mounting according to claim 9 wherein the fluid pressure operated resiliently acting return means consists of or includes at least one piston and cylinder means arranged to be resiliently loaded by fluid under pressure and connected between the arm and a rear part of the pivotally jointed connecting rod or similar elongate means or assembly.

11. A yieldable plough body mounting substantially as herein described with reference to FIGURES 1 to 4 orto FIGURES of the accompanying drawings.

12. A plough such as a reversible plough in which one or more ofthe plough body mountings is or are yieldably mounted in accordance with any of the preceding claims.